Ripple invested in Flutterwave's Series E round on Monday, embedding RLUSD and the XRP Ledger into Africa's largest payments infrastructure. The strategic investment targets the elimination of multi-day settlement delays and inflated FX margins that have historically constrained African cross-border commerce. Flutterwave processes over one billion transactions worth more than $50 billion and operates across Africa, with Nigeria as its primary hub.

The Series E round values the company at $3.2 billion. Ripple's investment brings three specific integrations to the platform. RLUSD becomes a primary settlement asset embedded directly into Flutterwave's payment rails and Send App remittance corridors. The XRP Ledger handles faster transaction clearing. A unified API bridges Flutterwave's domestic network with Ripple Payments, connecting local cards, mobile wallets, and bank transfers to Ripple's global payments infrastructure.

"Our investment will establish RLUSD within that infrastructure, with Flutterwave driving stablecoin flows over the XRPL and deepening its role as a settlement layer for real-world payments across the continent," said Ripple Managing Director for MEA Reece Merrick.

The Flutterwave deal directly expands real-world RLUSD and XRPL transaction volume. Africa represents one of the highest-volume remittance corridors globally, and embedding RLUSD as a primary settlement asset across Flutterwave's billion-transaction network adds genuine utility demand rather than speculative volume.

XRP is digesting yesterday's breakout, now sitting between the 0.5 Fibonacci level at $1.2071 and the 0.618 Fib at $1.2440. The 20 EMA at $1.2082 has flipped to support and is being tested right now, the line that must hold to keep the recovery structure intact. Holding $1.2082 and reclaiming $1.2440 targets $1.2823, then $1.2964, then $1.3633 on continuation. Losing the 20 EMA on a daily close fades the breakout and retests $1.1702 then $1.1246.

XRP is facing renewed criticism over its tokenomics and valuation, even as Ripple pushes the XRP Ledger into the emerging market for AI-agent payments. Crypto trader Moody Hank argued on June 14 that XRP may still be expensive even near the $1 level, citing the token’s large supply, escrow structure and Ripple’s continued holdings. The trader's comments highlight ongoing concerns about the asset's long-term utility and price sustainability despite recent market gains.

Tokenomics and Supply Concerns

Moody Hank pointed to XRP's total supply of 100 billion tokens, with about 58 billion currently circulating and roughly 36 billion still held in escrow. He criticized the pre-mined launch structure and argued that Ripple’s monthly escrow unlocks create a steady source of selling pressure. "Every single month Ripple unlocks up to 1 billion XRP from escrow," the trader said, adding that although much of it is relocked, the remaining amount can still enter the market.

The trader also questioned whether the XRP Ledger requires the XRP token to function, arguing that institutions using Ripple’s payment products can settle in local currencies. "The token is optional infrastructure, not essential utility," the trader said.

Ripple Expands Into AI Payments

The criticism arrives as Ripple expands its focus on artificial intelligence-linked payments. Ripple this week unveiled its XRPL AI Starter Kit, a new developer toolkit aimed at enabling AI agents to send and receive payments through the XRP Ledger. The package includes XRPL documentation access, Claude-powered wallet and payment tools, and support for x402 payments using XRP and RLUSD.

This launch reflects Ripple's push into AI-driven commerce, positioning XRP Ledger as payment infrastructure for autonomous AI agents.

Market Performance and Outlook

Crypto chart analyst Ali Martinez said XRP is trading inside a symmetrical triangle pattern. A breakout from the pattern could trigger a 14% price move. Since February 28, XRP has lost 15.1%, compared to a drop of 12.3% in Ethereum and Bitcoin's 3.1% fall.